Wireless device handoff between wireless networks

ABSTRACT

Examples are disclosed for a wireless device handoff between a first wireless network and a second wireless network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a Continuation Application under 35 U.S.C. § 120 ofU.S. application Ser. No. 14/797,703, filed on Jul. 13, 2015, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,980,185, which is a Continuation Application under 35 U.S.C.§ 120 of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/263,835, filed on Oct. 10, 2011,now U.S. Pat. No. 9,094,888, which in turn is a U.S. National Stagefiling under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No.PCT/US2011/034470, filed on Apr. 29, 2011. The contents of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/797,703, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/263,835,and International Application No. PCT/US2011/034470 are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in thissection are not prior art to the claims in this application and are notadmitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

Complex wireless communication systems may be deployed such thatcoverage areas for different types of wireless networks (“heterogeneouswireless networks”) included in the wireless communication systems mayat least temporarily overlay or overlap. These complex wirelesscommunication systems may include at least some wireless networks usingadaptive antenna capabilities to allow for active beamforming. Theactive beamforming, for example, may be in response to user trafficpatterns and other system management strategies. Also, some wirelessnetworks may include towers with antenna arrays having dozens ofconstantly changing sectors of coverage due to active beamforming. As aresult of the constantly changing sectors of coverage, a wireless devicemay able to detect a wireless network at a location at a given period oftime. But as the sectors of coverage change, the wireless device may nolonger detect the wireless network at the same location at another givenperiod of time.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes example methods to be implemented at afirst wireless network to handoff a wireless device to a second wirelessnetwork. The methods may include receiving coverage informationassociated with the wireless device and determining whether the wirelessdevice is capable of being covered by the second wireless network based,at least in part, on the received coverage information. A handoffrequest may then be transmitted to the second wireless network based, atleast in part, on the determination that the wireless device is capableof being covered by the second wireless network.

The present disclosure also describes example methods to be implementedat a first wireless network for a wireless device handoff between asecond wireless network and the first wireless network. The methods mayinclude receiving a handoff request from the second wireless network,the handoff request based, at least in part, on a determination by thesecond wireless network that the wireless device is not currentlycovered by the first wireless network but is capable of being covered bythe first wireless network. Based, at least in part, on the handoffrequest, one or more beams of an antenna array may be adapted tofacilitate coverage of the wireless device by the first wirelessnetwork. The wireless device may then be handed off from the secondwireless network to the first wireless network.

The present disclosure also describes example devices for a firstwireless network to handoff a wireless device to a second wirelessnetwork. The example devices may have a coverage manager that has logic.The logic may be configured to receive coverage information associatedwith the wireless device and determine whether the wireless device ispossibly capable of being covered by the second wireless network based,at least in part, on the coverage information. The logic may also beconfigured to transmit a handoff request to the second wireless networkbased, at least in part, on the determination that the wireless deviceis possibly capable of being covered by the second wireless network.

The present disclosure also describes example systems for a wirelessdevice handoff between a first wireless network and a second wirelessnetwork. The example systems may include an antenna array configured togenerate one or more adaptable beams to modify a coverage area for thefirst wireless network. The example systems may also include an adaptionmanager. The adaption manager may have logic configured to receive ahandoff request from the second wireless network, the handoff requestbased, at least in part, on a determination by the second wirelessnetwork that the wireless device is capable of being covered by thefirst wireless network. The logic may also be configured to cause a beamfrom among the one or more adaptable beams to be adapted in order toenable the wireless device to be covered by the first wireless network.The logic may further be configured to transmit a confirmation to thesecond wireless network to indicate acceptance of the handoff requestand the wireless device may then be handed off from the second wirelessnetwork to the first wireless network.

The present disclosure also describes example computer program products.In some examples, the computer program products may include a signalbearing medium having instructions for a first wireless network tohandoff a wireless device to a second wireless network. Theinstructions, which, when executed by logic may cause the logic toreceive coverage information associated with the wireless device.Responsive to the received indication, the instructions may also causethe logic to determine whether the wireless device is possibly coveredby the second wireless network based, at least in part, on the coverageinformation. The instructions may then cause the logic to transmit ahandoff request to the second wireless network based, at least in part,on a determination that the wireless device is possibly covered by thesecond wireless network.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments,and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features of this disclosure will become morefully apparent from the following description and appended claims, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with thedisclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of itsscope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity anddetail through use of the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1A-C illustrate an example wireless communication system thatincludes two wireless networks;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example architecture for acoverage manager;

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example architecture for anadaption manager;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of example methods implemented at awireless network to handoff a wireless device to another wirelessnetwork;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of example methods implemented at theother wireless network for the wireless device handoff between the otherwireless network and the wireless network;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer programproduct; and

FIG. 7 illustrates an example computing device; all arranged inaccordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative examples or embodiments describedin the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to belimiting. Other examples or embodiments may be utilized, and otherchanges may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of thesubject matter presented here. It will be readily understood thataspects of this disclosure, as generally described herein, andillustrated in the Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, anddesigned in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which areexplicitly contemplated and make part of this disclosure.

This disclosure is drawn, inter alia, to methods, apparatus, systems andcomputer program products related to a wireless device handoff between afirst wireless network and a second wireless network.

As contemplated in the present disclosure, constantly changing sectorsof coverage may result in a wireless device being able to detect awireless network at a location at a given period of time. However, asthe sectors of coverage change, the wireless device may no longer detectthe wireless network at the same location at another given period oftime. Thus, beamforming or beam shaping may cause handoff challenges fora wireless device to possibly be handed off to the wireless network.

In some examples, methods are implemented at a first wireless network tohandoff a wireless device to a second wireless network. The methods mayinclude receiving coverage information associated with the wirelessdevice and determining whether the wireless device is capable of beingcovered by the second wireless network based, at least in part, on thereceived coverage information. A handoff request may then be transmittedto the second wireless network based, at least in part, on thedetermination that the wireless device is capable of being covered bythe second wireless network. For some examples, a confirmation may thenbe received that indicates the handoff request has been accepted by thesecond wireless network. The wireless device may then be handed off tothe second wireless network based, at least in part, on the receivedconfirmation.

In some other examples, methods are implemented at a first wirelessnetwork for a wireless device handoff between a second wireless networkand the first wireless network. The methods may include receiving ahandoff request from the second wireless network, the handoff requestbased, at least in part, on a determination by the second wirelessnetwork that the wireless device is not currently covered by the firstwireless device but is capable of being covered by the first wirelessnetwork. Based, at least in part, on the handoff request, one or morebeams of an antenna array may be adapted to facilitate coverage of thewireless device by the first wireless network. The wireless device maythen be handed off from the second wireless network to the firstwireless network.

FIGS. 1A-C illustrate an example wireless communication system 100 thatincludes wireless networks 110 and 120. As shown in FIGS. 1A-C, wirelessnetwork 110 includes a coverage manager 112 and an antenna array 114.Also, wireless network 120 includes an adaption manager 122 and anantenna array 124. In some examples, wireless network 110 may have acoverage area indicated in FIGS. 1A-C as coverage area 115. Also, forthese examples, the antenna array 124 of wireless network 120 may beadaptable (e.g., via beamforming) to enable wireless network 120 to havevariable coverage areas. These variable coverage areas are shown inFIGS. 1A-C as coverage area 125-1 and coverage area 125-2.

According to some examples, as shown in FIGS. 1A-C, wireless device 130Amay communicatively couple to wireless network 110 via communicationlink 116A. Also, wireless device 140A may communicatively couple towireless network 120 via communication link 126A. In some examples,wireless device 140A may also be communicatively coupled to network 110via communication link 1161. As described more below, since wirelessdevice 140A may be communicatively coupled to both wireless networks, acommunication channel 160 may be established that includes communicationlinks 1161 and 126A. Either wireless network 110 or wireless network 120may use wireless device 140A as a relay to communicate with the otherwireless network via communication channel 160. Additionally and/oralternatively, wireless network 110 may be communicatively coupled towireless network 120 via communication channel 170 as shown in FIGS.1A-C.

In some examples, wireless networks 110 and 120 may be wirelessbase-stations that operate and/or may be separately associated withheterogeneous wireless networks. Wireless networks 110 and 120 may beheterogeneous based on each wireless network possibly operated bydifferent network service providers and/or in accordance with differenttypes of wireless network technologies. For these examples, thedifferent network service providers may be able to handoff wirelessdevices between the different wireless networks but may not shareoperating characteristics such as current and past coverage areas Onetype of wireless network technology may be described in an industrystandard known as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) 802.16-2009 and may be referred to as “WiMax”. Another type ofwireless network technology may be described in one or more industrystandards associated with the 3.sup.rd Generation Partnership Projectsuch as GSM, GPRS, EDGE, W-CDMA, HSPA, LTE or LTE-Advanced and may bereferred to as “3GPP”. Yet another type of wireless network technologymay be described in one or one or more industry standards associatedwith the 3.sup.rd Generation Partnership Project 2 such as CDMA-2000,EV-DO, EV-DO Rev. A or EV-DO Rev. B and may be referred to as “3GPP2”.WiMax, 3GPP or 3GPP3 types of wireless networks may also be referred toas wireless wide area networks (WLAN5). Although this disclosure is notlimited to only the above-mentioned standards and types of wirelessnetworks.

As mentioned above, wireless networks 110 and 120 may be coupled viacommunication channels 160 and/or 170. In some examples, communicationchannels 160 and 170 may operate in compliance with one or more industrystandards. The one or more industry standards may be associated with3GPP, 3GPP2, IEEE 802.11-2007, or IEEE 802.16-2009 or may be associatedwith other industry standards such as standards associated with IEEE802.1. In some examples, communication channels 160 and 170 may includewireless and/or wired communication links to couple wireless networks110 and 120 and these communication links may also be configured tooperate in compliance with standards associated with 3GPP, 3GPP2, IEEE802.11-2007, IEEE 802.16-2009 or IEEE 802.1. Although this disclosure isnot limited to only the above-mentioned standards. As an example, thecommunication channel 170 may be used in an LTE wireless communicationsystem as a network X1 channel. The network X1 channel may be used forinstances where heterogeneous wireless networks coordinate/managebase-station to base-station communications between wireless networks.

In some examples, coverage manager 112 may be co-located with abase-station associated with wireless network 110. In other examples,although not shown in FIGS. 1A-C, coverage manager 112 may be locatedwith control elements (e.g., a wireless communication system head end)that may remotely manage and/or control wireless network 110. For theseother examples, coverage manager 112 may be located remote to antennaarray 114, which provides coverage area 115 for wireless network 110.Similarly, adaption manager 122 may be co-located with a base-stationassociated with wireless network 120. Also, in other examples, adaptionmanager 122 may be located with control elements that may remotelymanage and/or control wireless network 120. For these other examples,adaption manager 122 may be located remote to antenna array 124, whichprovides coverage areas 125-1 and 125-2 for wireless network 120.

In some examples, coverage area 125-1 may indicate a coverage area fornetwork 120 for a past time period and coverage area 125-2 may indicatea coverage area for a current or present time period. Although thisdisclosure is not limited to a wireless network having two coverageareas over past and present time periods, but may include any number ofcoverage areas over any number of time periods. As mentioned previously,antenna array 124 of wireless network 120 may be adaptable (e.g., viabeamforming) to enable wireless network 120 to have variable coverageareas. As a result of the variable coverage areas, wireless device 130A,as shown in FIG. 1A, is within past coverage area 125-1 but is outsideof current coverage area 125-2. Thus, although wireless device 130A isnot currently covered by wireless network 120, past coverage area 125-1indicates that network 120 may be capable of providing coverage.

FIG. 1B depicts a view of wireless communication system 100 that showsnumerous wireless devices communicatively coupled to wireless network110. As shown in FIG. 1A, wireless devices 130A-H and 140A may couple towireless network 110 via communication links 116A-I. In some examples,as described more below, coverage manager 112 of wireless network 110may include logic and/or features configured to receive coverageinformation from wireless devices 130A-H and 140A to generate a coveragemap to indicate possible coverage areas for neighboring wirelessnetworks such as wireless network 120. The coverage information receivedfrom a given wireless device may include information such as a locationfor the given wireless device, whether a signal from one or moreneighboring wireless networks can be detected (e.g., strong enough tocommunicatively couple with the one or more neighboring wirelessnetworks) or an indication of signal strength from the one or moreneighboring wireless networks.

In some examples, as shown in FIG. 1B, wireless devices 130A and 130Hare in coverage area 125-1. As a result of being in coverage area 125-1,coverage information from wireless devices 130A and 130H may indicatethat network 120 did provide coverage to these wireless devices at apast time period and this information may be indicated on the coveragemap generated as described above. Therefore, although coverage area125-2 indicates no coverage for wireless devices 130A and 130H atpresent, coverage manager 112 may be configured to determine thatwireless device 130A and/or wireless device 130H may be capable of beingcovered by wireless network 120 based at least on the coverage map.

According to some examples, it may be determined that wireless device130 and/or wireless network 110 would benefit from the handoff ofwireless device 130 to wireless network 120. For example, wirelessdevice 130 may obtain a stronger signal from wireless network 120 orwireless network 110 may be overburdened and may need to reduce thenumber of wireless devices coupled to its network. Also, wireless device130 may be a mobile wireless device and coverage map information mayindicate that wireless device 130 may be moving towards wireless network120 and away from wireless network 110.

Coverage manager 112 of wireless network 110, as mentioned above, mayhave already determined that wireless device 130A may be capable beingcovered by wireless network 120. As a result of wireless network 120being capable of covering wireless device 130A, coverage manager 112 mayinclude logic and/or features to transmit a handoff request to wirelessnetwork 120. The handoff request, for example, may be transmitted viacommunication channel 160 or 170. As described more below, adaptionmanager 122 of wireless network 120 may include logic and/or featuresconfigured to receive the handoff request and determine whether to adaptantenna array 124 to facilitate coverage of wireless device 130A. If adetermination was made to adapt antenna array 124, adaption manager 122may transmit a confirmation (e.g., via communication channel 160 or 170)to indicate acceptance of the handoff request. The coverage area forwireless network 120 may now be similar to coverage area 125-1 andwireless device 130A may then be handed off from wireless network 110 towireless network 120.

FIG. 1C depicts a view of wireless communication system 100 that showsnumerous wireless devices communicatively coupled to wireless network120. As shown in FIG. 1C, wireless devices 140A-1 and 130A may couple towireless network 120 via communication links 126A-J. In some examples,as described more below, adaption manager 122 of wireless network 120may include logic and/or features configured to receive a handoffrequest from wireless network 110 (e.g., via communication channel 160or 170). As described above, the handoff request may be based on adetermination by wireless network 110 that wireless device 130A may notbe currently covered by wireless network 120 but may be capable of beingcovered by wireless network 120. Adaption manager 122 may also includelogic and/or features to adapt one or more beams of antenna array 124 toadjust wireless network 120's coverage area (e.g., back to coverage area125-1) based at least on the handoff request. For example, the one ormore beams of antenna array 124 may be configured to provide directionalsignal transmissions for wireless network 120 via the use of beamformingtechniques to include, but not limited to, the use of conventionalbeamformers or adaptive beamformers.

In some examples, adaption manager 122 may adapt the one or more beamsof antenna array 124 based on certain criteria. For example, adaptionmanager 122 may include logic and/or features configured to predeterminecriteria such as what network load would be placed on wireless network120 if wireless device 130A was handed off from wireless network 110.The network load, for example, may be based on an estimate of an averageload for wireless devices in general (e.g., based on historical networkdata) or may be based on information included in the handoff requestreceived from wireless network 110.

According to some examples, adaption manager 122 may also include logicand/or features to determine an effect of adapting one or more beams mayhave on wireless devices 140A-I. For example, as shown in FIG. 1C,wireless device 140C may be within coverage area 125-2. However, if theone or more beams of antenna array 124 are adapted to adjust thecoverage area back to coverage area 125-1, wireless device 140C isoutside of this coverage area. Since wireless device 140C may no longerbe covered, adaption manager 122 may determine not to adapt the one ormore beams. Hence, a confirmation to indicate an acceptance will not betransmitted to wireless network 110. Alternatively, if adaption manager122 values the addition of wireless device 130A higher than thesubtraction of wireless device 140C (e.g., wireless device 130A may be amore profitable/preferred user), a confirmation may be transmitted towireless network 110. The coverage area for wireless network 120 maythen be adjusted to be similar to coverage area 125-1 and wirelessdevice 130A may then be handed off from wireless network 110 to wirelessnetwork 120.

In some examples, wireless devices 130A-I or wireless devices 140A-J maybe mobile or stationary wireless devices, e.g., a computer, laptop,netbook, e-book, tablet-PC, small-form factor portable (or mobile)electronic device such as a cell phone, smart phone, a personal dataassistant (PDA), a personal media player device, a wireless web-watchdevice, a personal headset device, an application specific device, or ahybrid device that may include any of the above functions.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example architecture for acoverage manager 112. As described above for wireless communicationsystem 100 in FIGS. 1A-C, wireless network 110 may include a coveragemanager 112. In some examples, coverage manager 112 includes featuresand/or logic configured or arranged for a first wireless network (e.g.,wireless network 110) to handoff a wireless device to a second wirelessnetwork (e.g., wireless network 120).

The example coverage manager 112 of FIG. 2, includes coverage logic 210,control logic 220, memory 230, input/output (I/O) interfaces 240 andoptionally one or more applications 250. As illustrated in FIG. 2,coverage logic 210 is coupled to control logic 220, memory 230 and I/Ointerfaces 240. Also illustrated in FIG. 2, the optional applications250 are arranged in cooperation with control logic 220. Coverage logic210 may further include one or more of an interval feature 212, areceive feature 214, a determine feature 216, a request feature 218 or ahandoff feature 219, or any reasonable combination thereof.

In some examples, the elements portrayed in FIG. 2's block diagram areconfigured to support or enable coverage manager 112 as described inthis disclosure. A given coverage manager 112 may include some, all ormore elements than those depicted in FIG. 2. For example, coverage logic210 and control logic 220 may separately or collectively represent awide variety of logic device(s) to implement the features of coveragemanager 112. An example logic device may include one or more of acomputer, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a field programmable gatearray (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), asequestered thread or a core of a multi-core/multi-threadedmicroprocessor or a combination thereof.

In some examples, as shown in FIG. 2, coverage logic 210 includes one ormore of an interval feature 212, a receive feature 214, a determinefeature 216, a request feature 218 or a handoff feature 219. Coveragelogic 210 may be configured to use one or more of these features toperform operations. As described in more detail below, exampleoperations may include implementing a handoff of a wireless devicebetween a first wireless network and a second wireless network.

In some examples, control logic 220 may be configured to control theoverall operation of coverage manager 112. As mentioned above, controllogic 220 may represent any of a wide variety of logic device(s)configured to operate in conjunction with executable content orinstructions to implement the control of coverage manager 112. In somealternate examples, the features and functionality of control logic 220may be implemented within coverage logic 210.

According to some examples, memory 230 is arranged to store executablecontent or instructions. The executable content or instructions may beused by control logic 220 and/or coverage logic 210 to implement oractivate features or elements of coverage manager 112. As described morebelow, memory 230 may also be arranged to at least temporarily maintaincoverage information (e.g., coverage maps). The coverage information maybe associated with a plurality of wireless devices coupled to a wirelessnetwork (e.g., wireless network 110).

Memory 230 may include a wide variety of memory media including, but notlimited to, one or more of volatile memory, non-volatile memory, flashmemory, programmable variables or states, random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), or other static or dynamic storage media.

In some examples, I/O interfaces 240 may provide an interface via aninternal communication medium or link between a coverage manager 112 andelements resident on or co-located with coverage manager 112. Forexample, I/O interfaces 240 may provide an interface to elementsco-located with coverage manager 112 at a wireless base-station or ifcoverage manager 112 is located remote to the wireless base-station,elements co-located at the remote location, e.g., at a wirelesscommunication system head end. I/O interfaces 240 may include interfacesthat operate according to various communication protocols to communicateover the internal communication link (e.g., Inter-Integrated Circuit(1.sup.2C), System Management Bus (SM Bus) or Serial PeripheralInterface Bus (SPI), etc.).

I/O interfaces 240 may also provide an interface between coveragemanager 112 and elements remote to coverage manager 112. In someexamples, as mentioned above for FIGS. 1A-C, wireless network 110 maycouple to wireless network 120 via communication channels 160 or 170.The I/O interfaces 240, for example, include an interface configured tooperate according to various wireless and/or wired communicationprotocols to allow coverage manager(s) 112 to communicate overcommunication channels 160 or 170 (e.g., IEEE, 802.1, IEEE 802.11, IEEE802.16, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, W-CDMA, HSPA, LTE, CDMA-2000, EV-DO, etc.). Inother examples, I/O interfaces 240 may allow coverage manager 112 tocommunicate to elements such as antenna array 114 if coverage manager112 is remotely located to antenna array 114, e.g., at a wirelesscommunication system head end.

In some examples, coverage manager 112 includes one or more applications250 to provide instructions to control logic 220 and/or coverage logic210. Instructions, for example, may include instructions for coveragemanager 112 to implement or use one or more of an interval feature 212,a receive feature 214, a determine feature 216, a request feature 218 ora handoff feature 219.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example architecture for anadaption manager 122. As described above for wireless communicationsystem 100 in FIGS. 1A-C, wireless network 120 may include an adaptionmanager 122. In some examples, adaption manager 122 includes featuresand/or logic configured or arranged for a handoff of a wireless devicebetween wireless networks (e.g., wireless networks 110 and 120).

The example adaption manager 122 of FIG. 3 includes adapt logic 310,control logic 320, memory 330, input/output (I/O) interfaces 340 andoptionally one or more applications 350. As illustrated in FIG. 3, adaptlogic 310 is coupled to control logic 320, memory 330 and I/O interfaces340. Also illustrated in FIG. 3, the optional applications 350 arearranged in cooperation with control logic 320. Adapt logic 310 mayfurther include one or more of a receive feature 312, a cost feature314, a beam feature 316 or a handoff feature 318, or any reasonablecombination thereof.

In some examples, the elements portrayed in FIG. 3's block diagram areconfigured to support or enable adaption manager 122 as described inthis disclosure. A given adaption manager 122 may include some, all ormore elements than those depicted in FIG. 3. For example, adapt logic310 and control logic 320 may separately or collectively represent awide variety of logic device(s) to implement the features of adaptionmanager 122. An example logic device may include one or more of acomputer, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a field programmable gatearray (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), asequestered thread or a core of a multi-core/multi-threadedmicroprocessor or a combination thereof.

In some examples, as shown in FIG. 3, adapt logic 310 includes one ormore of a receive feature 312, a cost feature 314, a beam feature 316 ora handoff feature 318. Adapt logic 310 may be configured to use one ormore of these features to perform operations. As described in moredetail below, example operations may include implementing a handoff of awireless device between a first wireless network and a second wirelessnetwork.

In some examples, control logic 320 may be configured to control theoverall operation of adaption manager 122. Similar to control logic 220mentioned above, control logic 320 may represent any of a wide varietyof logic device(s) configured to operate in conjunction with executablecontent or instructions to implement the control of adaption manager122. In some alternate examples, the features and functionality ofcontrol logic 320 may be implemented within adapt logic 310.

According to some examples, memory 330 is arranged to store executablecontent or instructions. The executable content or instructions may beused by control logic 320 and/or adapt logic 310 to implement oractivate features or elements of adaption manager 122. Memory 330 mayalso be arranged to temporarily maintain information associated withdetermining whether to accept a handoff request (e.g., predeterminednetwork loads).

Memory 330 may include a wide variety of memory media including, but notlimited to, one or more of volatile memory, non-volatile memory, flashmemory, programmable variables or states, RAM, ROM, or other static ordynamic storage media.

In some examples, similar to I/O interfaces 240 described above, I/Ointerfaces 340 may provide an interface via an internal communicationmedium or link between adaption manager 122 and elements resident onco-located with adaption manager 122. Also similar to I/O interface 240,I/O interfaces 340 may also provide an interface between adaptionmanager 122 and elements remote to adaption manager 122. In someexamples, as mentioned above for FIGS. 1A-C, wireless network 120 maycouple to wireless network 110 via communication channels 160 or 170that may operate according to various wireless and/or wiredcommunication protocols. In other examples, I/O interfaces 340 may allowadaption manager 122 to communicate to elements such as antenna array124 if adaption manager 122 is remotely located to antenna array 114,e.g., at a wireless communication system head end.

In some examples, adaption manager 122 includes one or more applications350 to provide instructions to control logic 320 and/or adapt logic 310.Instructions, for example, may include instructions for adaption manager122 to implement or use one or more of a receive feature 312, a costfeature 314, a beam feature 316 or a handoff feature 318.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of example methods implemented at awireless network (e.g., wireless network 110) to handoff a wirelessdevice to another wireless network (e.g., wireless network 120). In someexamples, wireless communication system 100 as shown in FIGS. 1A-C, isused to illustrate example methods related to the flow chart depicted inFIG. 4. A coverage manager 112 as shown in FIG. 2 may also be used toillustrate the example methods. But the described methods are notlimited to implementations on wireless communication system 100 as shownin FIGS. 1A-C or to the coverage manager 112 shown in FIG. 2. Theexample methods may be implemented on other wireless communicationsystems having one or more of the elements depicted in FIGS. 1A-C orFIG. 2.

Beginning at block 410 (Begin Coverage Interval), coverage manager 112may include logic and/or features configured to start a coverageinterval (e.g., via interval feature 212). In some examples, thecoverage interval may be a time interval that may indicate to coveragemanager 112 at wireless network 110 to decide if wireless devicescan/should be handed off to another wireless network. The time intervalmay be based on an amount of time that does not overburden the wirelesscommunication system with excessive overhead yet provides timelyinformation to dynamically adjust to changing network environments(e.g., mobile/moving wireless devices and/or changing network loads).

Continuing from block 410 to decision block 420 (Possible WirelessDevice to Handoff?), coverage manager 112 may include logic and/orfeatures configured to determine whether a wireless device may need tobe handed over to another wireless network (e.g., via receive feature214). In some examples, a possible wireless device to handoff may be awireless device (e.g., wireless device 130A) that is mobile and movingin the direction that may soon take the wireless device out of wirelessnetwork 110's coverage area 115. For this example, cover manager 112 mayor may not determine that wireless device 130A is a possible handoffcandidate to be handed off to wireless network 120. So for the aboveexample, if wireless device 130A is a possible wireless device tohandoff, the processing may continue from decision block 420 to block430. Otherwise, processing moves to decision block 490.

Continuing from decision block 420 to block 430 (Receive CoverageInformation), coverage manager 112 may include logic and/or featuresconfigured to receive coverage information associated with the wirelessdevice to possibly handoff to wireless network 120 (e.g., via receivefeature 214). In some examples, as mentioned above for FIGS. 1A-C, thecoverage information may include a coverage map generated based oninformation received from wireless devices 130A-130H. Also the coverageinformation may include additional information associated with aphysical location of wireless device 130A and/or an indication thatwireless device 130A does not detect a signal from wireless network 120.

Continuing from block 430 to decision block 440 (Coverage Possible?),coverage manager 112 may include logic and/or features configured todetermine whether wireless device 130A was in a coverage area (e.g.,coverage area 125-1) that was covered by wireless network 120 in thepast (e.g., via determine feature 216). In some examples, the coveragemap may be used to determine the potential for coverage by wirelessnetwork 120. If the coverage map indicates that wireless device 130A maybe covered by wireless network 120, processing may continue fromdecision block 440 to decision block 450. Otherwise, processing moves todecision block 490.

Continuing from decision block 440 to decision block 450 (TransmitHandoff Request?), coverage manager 112 may include logic and/orfeatures configured to determine whether to transmit a handoff requestto wireless network 120 (e.g., via request feature 218). In someexamples, coverage manager 112 may assess various criteria to determinewhether a handoff of wireless device is cost effective or beneficial towireless device 130A and/or wireless network 110. The criteria mayinclude an estimated cost to handoff wireless device 130A to wirelessnetwork 120. For example, wireless device 130A may not be a contracteduser with a service provider that operates wireless network 120 and ahigh fee (e.g., roaming charge) may make a handoff unacceptably costly.The criteria may also include estimated signal strength from wirelessnetwork 120 if the handoff request is accepted. The criteria may furtherinclude whether wireless device 130A is mobile or stationary. Forexample, if wireless device 130A is mobile and coverage informationindicates wireless device 130A is moving towards wireless network 120 itmay be beneficial to request a handoff. If a handoff request is to betransmitted to wireless network 120, processing may continue fromdecision block 450 to block 460. Otherwise, processing moves to decisionblock 490.

Continuing from decision block 450 to block 460 (Transmit HandoffRequest), coverage manager 112 may include logic and/or featuresconfigured to transmit the handoff request (e.g., via request feature218) to wireless network 120. In some examples, the handoff request maybe transmitted via communication channel 160 that may include the use ofwireless device 140A as a relay. In other examples, the handoff requestmay be transmitted via communication channel 170. Also, the handoffrequest may include location or other information to allow wirelessnetwork 120 to possibly determine how the one or more beams of antennaarray 124 may be adapted to cover wireless device 130A.

Continuing from block 460 to decision block 470 (Conf. Received?),coverage manager 112 may include logic and/or features configured todetermine whether a confirmation has been received from wireless network120 (e.g., via receive feature 218). In some examples, the receivedconfirmation indicates to coverage manager 112 that the handoff requesthas been accepted for the handoff of wireless device 130A to wirelessnetwork 120. The confirmation may also indicate that wireless network120 has adapted its coverage area to now cover the location of wirelessdevice 130A. Coverage manager 112 may also include logic and/or featuresconfigured to start a confirmation interval (e.g., via interval feature212) that establishes a period of time to wait for a confirmation. If aconfirmation is received from wireless network 120 before theconfirmation interval expires, processing may continue from decisionblock 470 to block 480. Otherwise, if the confirmation interval expiresand no confirmation has been received, processing moves to decisionblock 490.

Continuing from decision block 470 to block 480 (Handoff WirelessDevice), coverage manager 112 may include logic and/or featuresconfigured to handoff wireless device 130A to wireless network 120(e.g., via handoff feature 219). In some examples, coverage manager 112may be configured to follow protocols/procedures as described inoperating agreements between operators of wireless networks 110 and 120to conduct the handoff. Also, various industry standards may be followedto conduct the handoff (e.g., IEEE 802.16, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, W-CDMA,HSPA, LTE, CDMA-2000, EV-DO, etc).

Moving from block 480 to decision block 490 (Coverage Interval Over?),coverage manager 112 may include logic and/or features configured todetermine whether the coverage interval is over (e.g., via intervalfeature 212). In some examples, as mentioned above, the coverageinterval may be a time interval that may indicate to coverage manager112 at wireless network 110 to decide if wireless devices can/should behanded off to another wireless network. If the coverage interval isover, the process moves to block 410 and a new interval begins or isstarted. Otherwise, if the coverage interval is not yet over, theprocess moves to decision block 420 and other wireless devices coupledto wireless network 110 may be considered for a handoff.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of example methods implemented at awireless network (e.g., wireless network 120) for a wireless devicehandoff between another wireless network (e.g., wireless network 110)and the wireless network. In some examples, wireless communicationsystem 100 as shown in FIGS. 1A-C, is used to illustrate example methodsrelated to the flow chart depicted in FIG. 5. An adaption manager 122 asshown in FIG. 3 may also be used to illustrate the example methods. Butthe described methods are not limited to implementations on wirelesscommunication system 100 as shown in FIGS. 1A-C or to the adaptionmanager 122 shown in FIG. 3. The example methods may be implemented onother wireless communication systems having one or more of the elementsdepicted in FIGS. 1A-C or FIG. 3.

Moving from the start to block 510 (Receive Handoff Request), adaptionmanager 122 of wireless network 120 may include logic and/or featuresconfigured to receive a handoff request from wireless network 110 (e.g.,via receive feature 312). In some examples, the handoff request may bebased on a determination by wireless network 110 that wireless device130A is not currently covered by wireless network 120 (e.g., coveragearea 125-2) but is capable of being covered by wireless network 120(e.g., coverage area 125-1). As mentioned above, the handoff request maybe received via either communication channel 160 or 170.

Continuing from block 510 to decision block 520 (Adapt Coverage Area?),adaption manager 122 may include logic and/or features configured todetermine whether to adapt the coverage area for wireless network 120(e.g., via cost feature 314). In some examples, adaption manager 122 mayevaluate the costs associated with a handoff of wireless device 130A towireless network 120 and base a determination on the associated costs.Those costs may be based on criteria to include a predetermined networkload placed on wireless network 120 if wireless device 130A is handedoff. The costs may also be based on an effect of adapting the coveragearea on other wireless devices coupled to wireless network 120 (e.g.,wireless device 140A-I). If a determination is made by adaption manager122 to adapt the coverage area, processing continues from decision block520 to block 530. Otherwise, processing comes to an end.

Continuing from decision block 520 to block 530 (Adapt One or MoreBeams), adaption manager 122 may include logic and/or featuresconfigured to adapt one or more beams generated from or by antenna array124 to facilitate coverage of wireless device 130A by wireless network120 (e.g., via beam feature 316). In some examples, a combination ofbeams generated by antenna array 124 may be directional beams. For theseexamples, adaption manager 122 may cause at least one of the directionalbeams to be adapted in order to change the coverage area (e.g., similarto coverage area 125-1) of wireless network 120 to enable wirelessdevice 130A to be covered by wireless network 120.

Continuing from block 530 to block 540 (Transmit Confirmation), adaptionmanager 122 may include logic and/or features configured to transmit aconfirmation to indicate acceptance of the handoff request from wirelessnetwork 110 for wireless device 130A (e.g., via beam feature 316). Insome examples, the confirmation may be transmitted via communicationchannel 160 or 170 and may indicate acceptance of the handoff request.The confirmation may also indicate that wireless network 120's coveragearea has been adapted to now cover wireless device 130A.

Continuing from block 540 to block 550 (Handoff Wireless Device),adaption manager 122 may include logic and/or features configured tohandoff wireless device 130A from wireless network 110 (e.g., viahandoff feature 318). In some examples, adaption manager 122 may beconfigured to follow protocols/procedures as described in operatingagreements between operators of wireless networks 110 and 120 to conductthe handoff. Also, various industry standards may be followed to conductthe handoff. The process then moves from block 550 and comes to an end.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer programproduct 600. In some examples, as shown in FIG. 6, computer programproduct 600 includes a signal bearing medium 602 that may also includeinstructions 604 for a first wireless network (e.g., wireless network110) to handoff a wireless device (e.g., wireless device 130A) to asecond wireless network (e.g., wireless network 120). Instructions 604,which, when executed by logic (e.g., coverage logic 210), may cause thelogic to receive coverage information associated with the wirelessdevice. The instructions 604 may also cause the logic to determinewhether the wireless device is possibly covered by the second wirelessnetwork based, at least in part, on the coverage information. Theinstructions 604 may also cause the logic to transmit a handoff requestto the second wireless network based, at least in part, on adetermination that the wireless device is possibly covered by the secondwireless network.

Also depicted in FIG. 6, in some examples, computer product 600 mayinclude one or more of a computer readable medium 606, a recordablemedium 608 and a communications medium 610. The dotted boxes aroundthese elements depict different types of mediums included within, butnot limited to, signal bearing medium 602. These types of mediums maydistribute instructions 604 to be executed by logic (e.g., coveragelogic 210). Computer readable medium 606 and recordable medium 608 mayinclude, but are not limited to, a flexible disk, a hard disk drive(HDD), a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), a digitaltape, a computer memory, etc. Communications medium 610 may include, butis not limited to, a digital and/or an analog communication medium(e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communication link, awireless communication link, etc.).

FIG. 7 illustrates an example computing device 700. In some examples,coverage manager 112 or adaption manager 122 depicted in FIGS. 1A-C,FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 may be implemented on computing device 700. In theseexamples, elements of computing device 700 may be arranged or configuredfor a wireless device handoff between a first wireless network and asecond wireless network. In a very basic configuration 701, computingdevice 700 typically includes one or more processors 710 and systemmemory 720. A memory bus 730 can be used for communicating between theprocessor 710 and the system memory 720.

Depending on the desired configuration, processor 710 can be of any typeincluding but not limited to a microprocessor (μP), a microcontroller(μP), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof.Processor 710 can include one or more levels of caching, such as a levelone cache 711 and a level two cache 712, a processor core 713, andregisters 714. The processor core 713 can include an arithmetic logicunit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signal processingcore (DSP Core), or any combination thereof. A memory controller 715 canalso be used with the processor 710, or in some implementations thememory controller 715 can be an internal part of the processor 710.

Depending on the desired configuration, the system memory 720 can be ofany type including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM),non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or any combinationthereof. System memory 720 typically includes an operating system 721,one or more applications 722, and program data 724. Application 722includes instructions 723 that are arranged to perform the functions asdescribed herein including the actions described with respect tocoverage manager 112 architecture shown in FIG. 2, adaption manager 122architecture shown in FIG. 3 or including the actions described withrespect to the flow charts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Program Data 724includes handoff data 725 that is useful for implementing instructions723 (e.g., determining whether to handoff, coordinating or executinghandoffs between wireless networks). In some examples, application 722can be arranged to operate with program data 724 on an operating system721 such that implementations for a wireless device handoff between afirst wireless network and a second wireless network may be provided asdescribed herein. This described basic configuration is illustrated inFIG. 7 by those components within dashed line 701.

Computing device 700 can have additional features or functionality, andadditional interfaces to facilitate communications between the basicconfiguration 701 and any required devices and interfaces. For example,a bus/interface controller 740 can be used to facilitate communicationsbetween the basic configuration 701 and one or more data storage devices750 via a storage interface bus 741. The data storage devices 750 can beremovable storage devices 751, non-removable storage devices 752, or acombination thereof. Examples of removable storage and non-removablestorage devices include magnetic disk devices such as flexible diskdrives and hard-disk drives (HDD), optical disk drives such as compactdisk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid statedrives (SSD), and tape drives to name a few. Example computer storagemedia can include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removablemedia implemented in any method or technology for storage ofinformation, such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data.

System memory 720, removable storage 751 and non-removable storage 752are all examples of computer storage media. Computer storage mediaincludes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or othermemory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or otheroptical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which canbe used to store the desired information and which can be accessed bycomputing device 700 (e.g., coverage maps). Any such computer storagemedia can be part of device 700.

Computing device 700 can also include an interface bus 742 forfacilitating communication from various interface devices (e.g., outputinterfaces, peripheral interfaces, and communication interfaces) to thebasic configuration 701 via the bus/interface controller 740. Exampleoutput interfaces 760 include a graphics processing unit 761 and anaudio processing unit 762, which can be configured to communicate tovarious external devices such as a display or speakers via one or moreA/V ports 763. Example peripheral interfaces 770 include a serialinterface controller 771 or a parallel interface controller 772, whichcan be configured to communicate with external devices such as inputdevices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch inputdevice, etc.) or other peripheral devices (e.g., printer, scanner, etc.)via one or more I/O ports 773. An example communication interface 780includes a network controller 781, which can be arranged to facilitatecommunications with one or more other computing devices 790 over anetwork communication via one or more communication ports 782. A networkcommunication connection is one example of a communication media.Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and includes any information delivery media. A “modulateddata signal” can be a signal that has one or more of its characteristicsset or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.By way of example, and not limitation, communication media can includewired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, andwireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR) andother wireless media. The term computer readable media as used hereincan include both storage media and communication media.

Computing device 700 can be implemented as a portion of a personalcomputer including both laptop computer and non-laptop computerconfigurations or implemented in a workstation or a serverconfiguration. In some examples, computing device 700 may be included inor associated with a base-station for a wireless network (e.g., wirelessnetworks 110 or 120). In other examples, computing device 700 may bepart of a wireless communication system head end that may control/managea wireless network.

References made in this disclosure to the term “responsive to” or “inresponse to” are not limited to responsiveness to a particular featureand/or structure. A feature may also be responsive to another featureand/or structure and also be located within that feature and/orstructure. Moreover, when terms or phrases such as “coupled” or“responsive” or “in response to” or “in communication with”, etc. areused herein or in the claims that follow, these terms should beinterpreted broadly. For example, the phrase “coupled to” may refer tobeing communicatively, electrically and/or operatively coupled asappropriate for the context in which the phrase is used.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the artto describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein,and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such describeddevices (e.g., transmitters, receivers, wireless devices, computingplatforms, computing devices, etc.) and/or methods into data processingsystems. That is, at least a portion of the devices and/or methodsdescribed herein can be integrated into a data processing system via areasonable amount of experimentation. Those having skill in the art willrecognize that a typical data processing system generally includes oneor more of a system unit housing, a video display device, a memory suchas volatile and non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessorsand digital signal processors, computational entities such as operatingsystems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs,one or more interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/orcontrol systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g.,feedback for sensing position and/or velocity; control motors for movingand/or adjusting components and/or quantities). A typical dataprocessing system may be implemented utilizing any suitable commerciallyavailable component, such as those typically found in datacomputing/communication and/or network computing/communication systems.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents or elements contained within, or connected with, differentother components or elements. It is to be understood that such depictedarchitectures are merely examples, and that in fact many otherarchitectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality.In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the samefunctionality is effectively “associated” such that the desiredfunctionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined toachieve a particular functionality can be seen as “associated with” eachother such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or“operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable”, to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactingcomponents and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactablecomponents.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, ingeneral such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill inthe art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopeand spirit being indicated by the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method implemented in a wireless systemfor a handoff of a wireless device from a first wireless network to asecond wireless network, the method comprising: receiving, logic of thefirst wireless network, coverage information associated with thewireless device; based at least in part on the received coverageinformation, determining, by the logic, whether the wireless device iscapable of being covered by the second wireless network, wherein thedetermining includes using past coverage area information of the secondwireless network; and based at least in part on a determination that thewireless device is capable of being covered by the second wirelessnetwork, transmitting, by the logic, a handoff request to the secondwireless network, wherein the first and second wireless networks arepart of the wireless system.
 2. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a confirmation from the second wireless networkthat the handoff request has been accepted by the second wirelessnetwork, wherein based at least in part on the received confirmation,the wireless device is handed off to the second wireless network.
 3. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the coverage information includesan indication that the wireless device does not detect a signal from thesecond wireless network and an indication of signal strength from one ormore neighboring wireless networks.
 4. The method according to claim 1,wherein the transmitting the handoff request comprises transmitting thehandoff request based at least in part on at least one of: an estimatedcost to handoff the wireless device to the second wireless network, oran estimated signal strength from the second wireless network at alocation of the wireless device if the handoff request is accepted. 5.The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting the handoffrequest comprises transmitting the handoff request via a wireless or awired communication link that communicatively couples the first wirelessnetwork to the second wireless network.
 6. The method according to claim1, wherein the transmitting the handoff request comprises transmittingthe handoff request via another wireless device that is configured to becommunicatively coupled to both the first wireless network and thesecond wireless network, and wherein the another wireless device isconfigured to serve as a relay between the first wireless network andthe second wireless network.
 7. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe first wireless network is a different type of wireless network thanthe second wireless network.
 8. A method implemented in a wirelesssystem for a handoff of a wireless device between a first wirelessnetwork and a second wireless network, the method comprising: receivinga handoff request from the second wireless network, wherein the handoffrequest is based at least in part on coverage information associatedwith the wireless device and on past coverage area information of atleast one of the second wireless network or the first wireless network,and wherein the first wireless network is not currently providingcoverage to the wireless device and is capable to provide coverage tothe wireless device; based at least in part on the handoff request,adapting one or more beams of an antenna array to facilitate coverage ofthe wireless device by the first wireless network; and transmitting aconfirmation from the first wireless network to indicate acceptance ofthe handoff request, wherein the wireless device is handed off from thesecond wireless network to the first wireless network, and wherein thefirst and second wireless networks are part of the wireless system. 9.The method according to claim 8, wherein the receiving the handoffrequest comprises receiving the handoff request via a wireless or awired communication link that communicatively couples the first wirelessnetwork to the second wireless network.
 10. The method according toclaim 8, wherein the receiving the handoff request comprises receivingthe handoff request via another wireless device that is configured to becommunicatively coupled to both the first wireless network and thesecond wireless network, and wherein the another wireless device isconfigured to serve as a relay between the first wireless network andthe second wireless network.
 11. The method according to claim 8,wherein the adapting the one or more beams comprises adapting the one ormore beams based at least in part on at least one of: a network loadplaced on the first wireless network due to the handoff of the wirelessdevice, or an effect of adapting one or more beams on other wirelessdevices currently communicatively coupled to the first wireless network.12. An apparatus for a wireless system for a handoff of a wirelessdevice between a first wireless network and a second wireless network,the apparatus comprising: a coverage manager having logic, wherein thelogic is configured to: receive coverage information associated with thewireless device; determine that the wireless device is capable of beingcovered by the second wireless network, wherein the determination isbased at least in part on the coverage information and on past coveragearea information of the second wireless network; and transmit a handoffrequest to the second wireless network based at least in part on thedetermination that the wireless device is capable of being covered bythe second wireless network, wherein the coverage information includesat least one of: an indication that the wireless device does not detecta signal from the second wireless network, or an indication of signalstrength from one or more neighboring wireless networks.
 13. Theapparatus according to claim 12, wherein the logic is further configuredto receive a confirmation that the handoff request has been accepted bythe second wireless network, and wherein the wireless device is handedoff to the second wireless network.
 14. The apparatus according to claim12, wherein the logic is configured to transmit the handoff requestfurther based at least in part on at least one of: an estimated cost tohandoff the wireless device to the second wireless network, an estimatedsignal strength from the second wireless network at a location of thewireless device if the handoff request is accepted, or whether thewireless device is a mobile wireless device.
 15. The apparatus accordingto claim 12, wherein the logic is configured to transmit the handoffrequest via a wireless or a wired communication link thatcommunicatively couples the first wireless network to the secondwireless network.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein thelogic is configured to transmit the handoff request via another wirelessdevice that is configured to be communicatively coupled to both thefirst wireless network and the second wireless network, and wherein theanother wireless device is configured to serve as a relay between thefirst wireless network and the second wireless network.
 17. A computerprogram product comprising a non-transitory medium having instructionsstored thereon to implement a handoff of a wireless device between afirst wireless network and a second wireless network in a wirelesssystem, wherein the instructions, in response to execution by logic,cause the logic to perform or control performance of operations thatcomprise: analyze coverage information associated with the wirelessdevice; based at least in part on the coverage information, determinethat the wireless device is not currently covered by the second wirelessnetwork and is capable of being covered by the second wireless network,wherein the determination uses past coverage area information of thesecond wireless network; and based at least in part on the determinationthat the wireless device is capable of being covered by the secondwireless network, transmit a handoff request to the second wirelessnetwork, wherein the coverage information includes at least one of: anindication that the wireless device does not detect a signal from thesecond wireless network, or an indication of signal strength from one ormore neighboring wireless networks.
 18. The computer program productaccording to claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise: detect aconfirmation that the handoff request has been accepted by the secondwireless network, wherein the wireless device is handed off to thesecond wireless network.
 19. The computer program product according toclaim 17, wherein the handoff request is transmitted via a wireless or awired communication link that communicatively couples the first wirelessnetwork to the second wireless network.
 20. The computer program productaccording to claim 17, wherein the handoff request is transmitted viaanother wireless device that is configured to be communicatively coupledto both the first wireless network and the second wireless network, andwherein the another wireless device is configured to serve as a relaybetween the first wireless network and the second wireless network. 21.A method implemented in a wireless system for a handoff of a wirelessdevice between a first wireless network and a second wireless network,the method comprising: receiving a handoff request for the wirelessdevice to be handed off from the second wireless network to the firstwireless network, wherein the handoff request is based at least in parton coverage information associated with the wireless device and on pastcoverage area information of at least one of the second wireless networkor the first wireless network, and wherein the first wireless network isnot currently providing coverage to the wireless device and is capableto provide coverage to the wireless device; based at least in part onthe handoff request, adapting from a first wireless technology of thefirst wireless network to a second wireless technology of the firstwireless network, so as to facilitate coverage of the wireless device bythe first wireless network via the second wireless technology; andtransmitting a confirmation from the first wireless network to indicateacceptance of the handoff request, wherein the wireless device is handedoff from the second wireless network to the first wireless network, andwherein the first and second wireless networks are part of the wirelesssystem.